The field of the disclosure relates generally to turbine engines, and more particularly to determining an operating space for a gas turbine.
At least some known gas turbine engines include at least one compressor, a combustor, and a high-pressure turbine coupled together in a serial flow relationship. More specifically, the compressor and high-pressure turbine are coupled through a shaft to form a high-pressure rotor assembly. Air entering the turbine engine is mixed with fuel and ignited to form a high energy gas stream. The high energy gas stream flows through the high-pressure turbine to rotatably drive the high-pressure turbine such that the shaft rotatably drives the compressor and an electrical generator. Once the air leaves the high-pressure turbine, it typically enters a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) that uses a large portion of the remaining thermal energy to boil and superheat water into steam used to drive a steam turbine for increased electrical power outputs.
Recent advances in variable load path (VLP) software have increased available operating space for gas turbines, allowing operators to control a gas turbine to operate anywhere within the operating space at a given point in time. However, accurately determining the boundaries of the operating space may be relatively difficult, especially in real time when the turbine is online. At least some known systems use offline data runs (outside of a control system), offline data reduction, and table lookup of parameters in the actual control system to estimate an operating space. However, this generally requires dedicated offline data analysis and a separate offline system.